The invention relates to an apparatus for depositing sheets in a pile and for removing the pile, with a carrier member for the leading edges of the sheets removable from the pile and a removal device acting under the carrier member for the pile resting on the pile table.
Such an apparatus is known from DAS No. 1,303,445 wherein, a flow of sheets fed in a ragged manner runs against a pivotable stop member on a pile or stock table. When the collecting pile has reached the necessary height, a separating shoe with an auxiliary stop is swung in over the pile and holds the leading edges of the sheets until the pile resting on the pile table has been removed. The separating shoe then swings out again and most of the pile formation takes place on the pile table.
This apparatus operates successfully, but it would be desirable to further develop it to bring about an even faster operation, while maintaining and improving the clear separation between the following piles.
German Pat. No. 1,279,035 discloses separating fingers, which are briefly introduced into a ragged flow of sheets to deflect the latter upwards and consequently bring about a gap in the said sheets. However, they lead to disordered groups of articles, which are not in a neat pile.
German Pat. No. 2,547,298 discloses a piling device, which the pile table comprises a large, sawtoothlike star wheel, on whose "teeth" the pile forms and is advanced after being produced. However, such an apparatus is too space-consuming for large sheet sizes, is difficult to adapt to different formats and requires a very definite, large gap in the ragged flow of sheets, in order to be able to advance the star wheel.
Furthermore, DOS No. 2,715,705 discloses an apparatus in which the individual sheets drop into a very deep pile shaft, in which a starwheel with long, thin arms mounted in rotary manner behind the leading edge of the pile and below the delivery conveyor, is swung into the flow of sheets and temporarily carries the sheets which have collected to form a small pile, while the completed pile is drawn downwards. However, with this apparatus, during the swinging in of the starwheel into the tight, ragged flow of sheets, one or a few sheets may not be fed up to the leading edge of the pile and are instead jammed, creased and crumpled by the swung in starwheel, because it is swung transversely and in fact with one component of motion opposite to the sheet transfer direction.